Patient transfer carriage



G. C. LETCH PATIENT TRANSFER CARRIAGE Oct. 12, 1948.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J GETQH 6.562222 or :ZIFE

Filed 001;. 31., 1945 WWW Patented Oct. 12, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PATIENT TRANSFER CARRIAGE Gerald G. Letch, Fort Sam Houston, Tex.

Application October 31, 194.5, Serial :No. 625,743

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in invalid or patient transfer carriages of a type used in hospitals or the like where sick, injured, or unconscious people are to be moved from one location to another, as from a bed to an operating table, or vice versa, and with a minimum of effort by attendants and in a manner to avoid further injury to the patient and to support the patient in a comfortable position after and while being moved.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a device of thischaracter includ-v ing a vertically adjustable platform having a laterally slidable top adapted to project in a direction toward either side of the platform into a position overlying a bed or other object on which a person may be lying whereby the person may be moved onto and off of the platform with a minimum of effort and discomfort to the person.

A further object of the invention is to provide safe operating mechanism for vertically adjusting the platform and to maintain the platform in vertically adjusted position without danger of accidentally being lowered after the weight of a person is placed thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel brake construction to prevent movement of the carriage during the transfer of the patient.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus of this character of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and. operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view with parts broken away and shown in section,

Figure 2 is a, horizontal sectional view taken substantially on a line-2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on a line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the I platform,

in, for the purpose of illustration, I have-disclosed a preferred embodiment of theinv-ention, thenumeral 5 designates the carriage frame generally which includes lower, longitudinal and transverse frame members 6 and '1, respectively, connected to corner posts 8, said frame being constructed of tubular metal or-other suitable inexpensive and strong material.

Wheels 9 are swivelly mounted at the lower ends of the posts Bfor moving the carriage from place to place.

An upper frame structure designated generally at If] is carried by the corner post 8 and includes longitudinal, flat strips II and transverse, fiat strips [2 connected at their ends to each other in any suitable manner outwardly of the post 8. Vertical bars I 3 extend above and below the 1011- gitudinal strips H at each side of the carriage and are connected at their upper ends to a horizontal frame l4 which rests on top of the post 8.

Welded or otherwise suitably secured on top of the frame l4 adjacent its ends is a pair of transverse bars I5, each formed with a center guide opening i501. and having their outer edges formed with an upwardl inclined flange l6 and on which a platform, designated generally at [1, is adapted to be seated.

The-platform l'l includes an open frame I8 and end frames is extending downwardly therefrom and adapted for conformably positioning on the bars [5, as indicated in Figure 3 of the drawing.

The frame i8 is provided with a plurality of spaced, parallel guide rods 20 arranged transversely of the carriage and on which collars 2| are slidably mounted, the collars being welded or otherwise suitably secured to the underside and substantially equidistantly from the longitudinal side edges of a top 22 which is slidably supported on the upper edges of the frame [8 of the platform.

Secured to each of the end frame members I9 is a rack bar 23 which extends downwardly from the platform for sliding in the opening la and engaged by pinions 24 secured at the ends of a longitudinally extending shaft 25 journaled in bearings 26 carried by the transverse frame members l2.

A worm gear 21 is secured to the shaft 25 intermediate the ends thereof and engages a worm 28 secured at the center of a transverse shaft 29 which is journaled in the upper portion of the bars I3 at the opposite sides of the carriage and operated at either end by hand wheels 30. To the lower end of each of the side bars I3 is pivotally attached a ground-engaging brake 3| having rubber covering 32 secured to the upper and lower surfaces thereof, the brake being adapted for lowering into a position at either side of the carriage, as indicated in Figure 3 of the drawing, the rubber covering at the under side of the brake being adapted to frictionally engage a floor or other surface to prevent lateral as well as longitudinal movement of the carriage.

\ The brakes 3| are secured in a raised position by means of pivoted catches 33 secured to the bars [3.

In the operation of the device, the carriage is moved alongside a bed, operating table, or other object on which a person may be lying and the platform I! vertically adjusted by the hand wheels 30 to position the frame I8 substantially in the horizontal plane of the bed or operating table.

The top 22 is then slidably moved laterally of the platform ll into a position overlying the bed or operatin table and a flexible, light-weight canvas sheet or other sheet of material is placed under the patient and on top of the top 22 of the platform. By pulling on the sheet, the patient is drawn onto the top 22 and the top 22 then slidably moved on the platform I! to the center thereof. The platform I1 is then lowered into position for seating on the frame l5, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3 of the drawing.

While the platform I! is in its elevated position, the worm gear 21 and worm 28 will prevent accidental lowering movement of the platform while the patient is being transferred thereto.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it

is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art.

4 A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though I have herein shown and described a, preferred embodiment of my invention that the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

An invalid transfer table comprising a carriage, a platform mounted for vertical adjustment on the carriage, spaced parallel, laterally extending guide rods carried by the platform, a top for the platform having collars on its under side slidably mounted on said rods for movement into and out of position overlying an object on which a person is lying for moving the person onto or off of the table, upper end cross bars on said carriage with upwardly inclined end flanges, and end frames on said platform comformably fitting against said bars when said platform is lowered.

GERALD C. LETCH.

REFERENCES CITED ihe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 104,358 Russ June 14, 1870 1,110,838 Taylor Sept. 15, 1914 1,487,171 La Vigne Mar. 18, 1924 1,694,172 Gallowitz Dec. 4, 1928 1,829,274 Gilroy Oct. 27, 1931 1,987,331 Floraday Jan. 8, 1935 2,014,244 Bramlett Sept. 10, 1935 2,234,483 Sutton Mar. 10, 1941 

